Insomnia
by Solora Goldsun
Summary: Unable to fall asleep due to her sensitive hearing, Velvet finds solace in the soothing voice, warmth, and heartbeat of her partner. (CinnaBun)


**Hello, fellas! I thought I'd jump on the CFVY hype train with everyone else. I plan on writing a Fox/Coco fic eventually, but inspiration first hit for a Yatsuhashi/Velvet piece. Pairing names for this team are a bit difficult, but I've decided to refer to this one as CinnaBun. Why? Yatsuhashi is a Japanese treat made with cinnamon and Velvet is a bunny. Hope you enjoy. As usual, I inserted a few of my headcanons.**

Velvet couldn't sleep. Again.

It wasn't because she wasn't trying or wasn't tired. It was an unfortunate combination between her rabbit ears and her tendency to be a light sleeper. Every creak of the window, every whistle of air through Coco's nose, and every light snore from Fox served to jolt her into wakefulness instantly, no matter how close to dozing off she was.

It was near two in the morning and she was starting to quietly sob with exhaustion. No matter what she tried, every sound was amplified in her mind. She tried putting a pillow over her head, folding her rabbit ears, and wrapping all four ears in her comforter. Nothing helped. She had once tried earplugs, but the feeling of something stuck in her ears kept her awake as surely as a creaking window.

Tears moistened her wrinkled pillow and she sniffled softly, resigning herself to yet another day of dozing during class and chugging espresso like water. One of these days, maybe she'd grow tired enough to faint dead away for a month.

The sound of Yatsuhashi shifting in his bed caused her to quickly rein in her quiet crying. The last thing she wanted was for her partner to worry or think she was weak. To her dismay, she heard him get up and walk over to her bedside. A large hand touched her shoulder.

She looked up at him, ready to apologize for waking him, but stopped when he silently beckoned toward the door with his head. Nodding, she stood and followed him.

The two walked until they reached the common room. No one was in the area as Yatsuhashi sat down on one of the couches and patted the spot next to him. He waited for her to sit before speaking. "What's going on, Velvet?" he asked, his gentle voice sharp with concern. "You've had bags under your eyes for days, and you were crying just now. Has someone been messing with you?"

Velvet sighed and shook her head, simultaneously touched by her friend's concern and angry with how obvious her weakness had been to him. "No, it's not that. I just can't sleep."

"Nightmares?"

"No. Everything is just too _loud_." Velvet tugged halfheartedly at one of her ears. "There are certain sounds that just keep me up, no matter what, and there's no way to block them out."

"What kinds of sounds?"

"Creaking ceilings, shuddering windows, nose whistles, snoring…pretty much every sound in the room." The Faunus brought her knees to her chest and hugged them. "I've tried listening to music, but that also keeps me up, and the earbuds hurt. I've tried sleeping pills, but they make me too lethargic during the day. Nothing helps. It's worse now, since it's colder and windier. The building makes more noise than usual."

Yatsuhashi made a sympathetic sound, placing a large hand on her back. "You should've said something. Maybe there's a way to make some of the sounds go away. Coco could take some allergy pills, or Fox could sleep in a more upright position, or something."

Velvet leaned into her partner's warmth instinctively, a drowsy smile coming to her face. "I don't want to cause any trouble for anyone. I can manage."

"You shouldn't have to," Yatsuhashi insisted. "You need your sleep, not just for your sake, but ours." He glanced around the common room. "There aren't as many windows here. Is it quieter?"

"Yes. And—" Velvet quickly stopped, biting her tongue and blushing.

"And, what?" Her partner tilted his head, looking down at her, smiling a little as one of her ears tickled his cheek.

"N-Nothing." Truthfully, the sound of Yatsuhashi's voice was serving to lull her closer and closer to sleep. She couldn't say that, though! That would be too embarrassing.

Yatsuhashi wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. "Try to go to sleep. I'll carry you back to the room once you've dozed off."

Velvet yawned. "You don't have to."

"You won't talk me out of it."

"Okay." The rabbit Faunus was too tired at this point to argue. Besides, a new sound had caught her attention. It overpowered all other noises and made her eyes droop. It was her partner's heartbeat.

It steadily thrummed in all four of her ears and she snuggled closer to hear it better. When she did that, the sound took on a quicker tempo for a few seconds before settling into its normal rhythm once more. She felt her own heart thumping in her chest, seemingly adjusting its pattern to match Yatsuhashi's as she finally felt a blissful blackness overtake her.

…

Over the next few days, Yatsuhashi effortlessly took on the mantle of stand-in teddy bear for his partner. After that first night, he adopted a pattern of checking on her at midnight and taking her to the common room whenever she was awake. They would sit on the couch and talk quietly until the Faunus would drift off. Yatsuhashi would then take her back to the room and gently tuck her in before returning to his own bed. Sometimes, she would cling to his arm in her sleep and he would have to carefully detach her.

These moments, rather than annoying him, filled him with a surprisingly intense feeling of adoration and protectiveness.

Also, Velvet would occasionally take impromptu naps in the evening while studying with Yatsuhashi in the dorm room. They would be silently reading their textbooks or talking about their days when her head would suddenly plop against his arm.

She often expressed worry that she was troubling him, but these thoughts were quickly shot down. Yatsuhashi was more than happy to help, especially when Velvet started showing clear signs of increased vitality during the day.

Besides, he found that he quite enjoyed her falling asleep next to him. Her perky ears would slowly droop, often flopping against his shoulder or chest. Her body would instinctively curl up and snuggle into his side. Probably the cutest thing of all, however, was the fact that her nose twitched while she slept.

_Just like a bunny._ He mused as he watched her relax against him after two hours of combined studying and conversation. Her textbook slid from her hands and onto her lap and her nose immediately started twitching. Yatsuhashi's usually-stoic expression melted into a tender smile.

Carefully, he freed the arm Velvet was leaning against, moving it to a more relaxed position on the pillow behind them. The rabbit Faunus groaned and scooted closer, nuzzling her cheek against his chest.

Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

The sound of Yatsuhashi's heartbeat was so loud; he was stunned that it wasn't causing Velvet to wake up. It was borderline painful. He was filled with the increasingly-present urge to draw her close, to wrap her completely in his arms, to just hold her tightly for a few minutes. Instead, he satisfied himself by petting her hair.

He had found that, like a bunny, Velvet seemed to enjoy being petted on the head between her ears. Fox had attempted the method on impulse a few weeks ago, when Velvet had been in a near-panic due to an upcoming exam. She had almost immediately relaxed, her ears drooping and a serene expression coming to her face. Yatsuhashi was a little jealous that he hadn't thought of it first.

Now, he stared down at her as she made sleepy sounds of contentment. He thought that he was controlling his emotions pretty well…until she brought up one hand to gently clutch his shirt and mumbled softly in her sleep. "Hn… Yatsu…"

His cheeks burning, Yatsuhashi bent down and touched a quick kiss to the top of her head. He allowed his face to rest there for a moment before drawing back. He didn't notice how her skin was slightly more flushed than before, or the fact that her lips were upturned in a tiny smile.

**I heavily based Velvet in this story off of my own experiences, as I'm a very light sleeper. As in, I can wake up to my phone vibrating across the room. My dorm room ceiling has a tendency to creak when the heater is cranked above freezing, so I'm forced to endure no heat in the winter in order to not go crazy because of a lack of sleep. This could be a stand-alone oneshot, but I may turn it into a twoshot. Let me know what you guys think. Hope you liked it and let's keep our fingers crossed for more CFVY in Volume 3. (Especially Fox. I can't wait to learn more about Fox.) Peace out!**


End file.
